Deeper than the surface
by CartoonBandwagon
Summary: Nya finds Cole on the deck and decides to have a little chat with him. Cole/Nya one-shot. Takes place after the Day of the Departed special.


**Hello readers, this is my first fanfic ever but not my first story. You see I was trying to write my own novel but that seems a little extreme for a person like me so I decided to start out small. So if you want to correct me on anything I will be happy to fix the mistake. This is a one-shot mostly because I'm new at writing fanfics and not so great at coming up with original ideas for existing shows, movies, books, ect. This has been something I've been thinking about for awhile and I feel as though there's not enough (good) Cole/Nya stories out there. I get that people like Jaya but I think that's only because it's canon to the actual series. In fanfics it's nice to experiment with ships and for some reason I like Nycole and don't get me wrong Jaya is adorable but there's just something about Nycole that Jaya doesn't have. It's probably just me, but whatever. If you don't like this ship then you shouldn't be reading this in the first place. Now without further ado, let us begin...**

 **Nya's POV:**

We had just come back to the bounty after raising our lanterns and telling a few more stories. It was around midnight and everyone was already headed to bed, everyone except me. I just need some fresh air. Lately it feels as though I'm being smothered everywhere I go. Kai always wants me to train with him, Lloyd needs help with becoming a sensei in training (says I'm good at making decisions), Sensei Wu has this individual training session because I just recently became a ninja, Zane wants me to cook with him saying I'll need to learn someday for a family of my own and to play chess with him since Jay sucks. Jay... More often then not I feel as though the spark between us is dying. He never takes me seriously or listens to what I have to say without turning it into a joke. He's great and all but not someone I want to spend the rest of my life with. I can't see us going any further than what we already have, or what we did have. I just don't know how or when to tell him, but it wouldn't matter anyway. He'll just laugh about it and say I must be tired or something, then I'll get mad and yell at him for being inconsiderate making me look like the bad guy. Then everyone else would look at me as if I was the cruelest person on the planet.

I sigh quietly to myself as I ascend the stairs that lead to the deck. No one understands what it feels like to be me. I'm the only girl on the team, excluding Misako but she doesn't really count. I'm expected to live up to this perfect image the population has painted for me, 'the girl ninja'. I still can't believe people are calling me that, even now after what happened with Nadakhan. I'm supposed to do little girls makeup, attend girlish events, stay behind the action. I can do so much more than people give me credit for. I know the guys don't mean to but sometimes they treat me the same way. I thought after they found out I was Samurai X they would let me tag along but I guess I was wrong. Maybe someday but for now I'll just have to endure it.

I reached the top and silently cracked open the door, looking around for anything out of the ordinary, being a ninja you could never be too careful. I noticed that at the end of the the deck, leaning on the rail with his back facing me, there was someone already occupying this space. It wasn't until I crept but two feet away from him that I decided to make my presence noticed. "Cole?"

He didn't turn around, he didn't even flinch. _Was I not quiet enough? Huh, maybe I do need that extra training after all._ "Hey Nya."

When I moved to his right at the rail and got close enough to see his face, I caught something in his eyes. Sad confusion. _What did he have to be sad about, he's human again. Ninjago is back to normal , well until the next villain comes to wreak havoc on Ninjago again._ But I can't say that without hearing his reasons first. "What are you doing out here?" I asked

"I could ask you the same question." He glanced at me, for the first time since I've been out here.

"If I tell you my reason first, will you tell me yours?" I questioned.

"Deal." He turned to face me, finally.

"Here's the thing, the reason why I'm out here is because I needed some time alone." I explained, taking a deep breath about to continue when he interrupted me.

"I'll go if you want." He started to head back.

I instantly grabbed a hold of his forearm. "WAIT!" I might've said that a little too loud, "I didn't mean it like that. Let me finish. I needed some time to myself, to think without someone barging in on me." I look to the ground with a defeated look on my face, still holding Cole's forearm but he didn't move out of my grasp. Just stood there. "I don't want to be smothered anymore. It's hard being me. Being told what I can and can't do because of who I am, a girl. I'm tired of everyone thinking so little of me. And no, I don't blame you or anyone else, you all can't help soaking up all the action while I'm trying to help as much as I can. I just wish I could... I don't know. What can I do, I'm nothing but a little girl playing dress-up with the ninja." I finished trying so desperately not to break out in tears.

Cole kept standing there in silence until he eventually responded to my mini rant. "I had no idea you were so upset about it, you usually just brush it off or ignore them. I'm sorry." He apologized walking closer to me, probably so I don't have to reach out to touch his arm anymore. "I guess now is the part where I tell you why I'm out here." He paused, trying to find the right words. "I feel...lost. I don't know what I feel anymore. When I was in the departed realm I could literally feel myself slipping away. My soul ripping apart, my heart shattering into floating pieces. I then started to feel angry. Angry I was going to be stuck there, angry I was going to be a ghost forever, angry at Morro for being the cause of this in the first place, angry I couldn't blame him anymore because he's not even here, angry you all forgot about me, angry for being so helpless..." I could tell he was trying not to cry as well when I looked back up at him. He inhaled deeply and exhaled with a shudder, "...upset for not being a better leader."

I couldn't take it anymore, I swiftly grabbed him into a soft but firm hug. He has been holding this all in, bottling it up, in front of the others. _Why didn't he just tell us?_ He equally returned the embrace, holding me in his strong arms. "I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry. We should never have forgotten you. If we were better friends then you wouldn't have been in that mess. You wouldn't have felt like that. We could've figured it out together. We didn't know. I'm so, so sorry." I apologize and hope he's not mad at me.

He leans his head down to mine, I've never noticed how much taller than me he was. "Sometimes I still feel like a ghost. People walk right through me without consideration. Invisible to the world, like I'll disappear without anyone noticing, remembering, me." He looks off to the side for a second, then back at me. "Ya'know, you're the only one who's apologized to me about it. I thought that would be the first thing that everyone did when they saw me. But no, we just spent the whole night around a fire sharing silly stories as if it wasn't a big deal. 'Normal Ninjago stuff, it's over now so let's move on.'" He said bitterly at the end. He leaned back to look down on my face, I looking up at him. "Why didn't I just say that to them? Why is it so hard to tell them how I really feel sometimes? Why is it so easy to talk to you?" He asked, obviously troubled.

His eyes bore into mine asking an unspoken question, waiting until after I responded. "Well, it's like I told myself before, 'I suppose I connect with you on a deeper level.'"

He stared at me for no less than a second. In one swift motion he put his hands behind my head, entangling his fingers in my hair, pulled my closer while leaning down, and pressed his lips to mine. Upon instinct I closed my eyes and wrapped my hands around his neck and play with some of his soft raven locks. This is nothing I've ever felt before. Sure, Jay and I have had our fair share of kisses, but none were ever like this. They were soft, quick, and chaste kisses. Not a whole lot of emotion in them. But we did just pour out all our feelings to each other so that could add to the ferocity of the kiss. This was passionate, loving, strong, a sense of longing in it. We had both needed this for a really long time. His lips were soft, full, and smooth. Unlike Jay's, who's were thin and had an excessive amount of chapstick on them. We moved together, as one. His hands glided down my face, over my shoulders, until they reached my waist. He leaned my back against the rail so I was underneath of him. After about three minutes or more, I haven't been keeping track of the time, we parted gasping for breath. "Wow," was all I said after about thirty seconds of us both breathing deeply, the feel of the warmth of his breath on my lips giving me pleasure. We held each other in blissful silence.

He seemed to be in a daze. A little while longer was when he broke the silence. "What does this mean for us, for you and Jay?"

I dreaded that he had asked that. He just had to ruin the moment with my relationship with Jay. Though it was bound to be brought up eventually. "I'm not quite sure. Our relationship has been a bit strained recently. It's not the same as it was. He doesn't get me, not as well as you do. That was also what I was thinking about coming up here. I think I have to be honest with him but I don't know how to say it. He likes me, but I don't think it's more than just a crush. But I know one thing for sure, I like you more than just a crush." I said, hoping that didn't sound as cheesy to him as it did to me. It obviously didn't since he came in for a second kiss. I knew he felt the same way too.

 **Welp, that's all folks. I had a different version typed up but it was deleted so I had to rewrite it. Though tbh I like this one better. More detailed. Tell me what you think in the reviews please. Thanks for reading.**


End file.
